by BRAD ROLLINS
In addition to $850,000 toward the purchase of land surrounding Jacob’s Well, the Hays County Commissioners Court in the past two weeks has approved expenditures totaling more than $6.7 million for parks and open space on the western side of the county.
On Tuesday, a contingent from Drippings Springs was on hand for the court’s vote to “reserve” $1.7 million for the Harrison Ranch Park on Ranch Road 12. The project still has to be scored by the Parks and Open Space Advisory Board, but commissioners led by Pct. 4’s Karen Ford left little doubt that they would eventually approve the expenditure.
The city of Dripping Springs bought the 68-acre spread in 2008, using an allocation of $775,000 from a 2001 parks bond package as well as city and state funds. Popular with horseback riders, the ranching heritage-themed property will be developed with a hike and bike trail system, a pavilion/arena, picnic areas, playground, horseshoe and washer pits, disc golf course, primitive camping and parking.
“This is a ranch about the Hill Country,” said resident Bob Richardson whose consulting company drafted plans for Harrison Ranch Park.
The court voted 4-1 with County Judge Elizabeth Sumter not in favor of the project. That followed a unanimous vote on Aug. 10 to negotiate the purchase of a 1,000-acre tract of the Nicholson Ranch in the Henly area for about $5 million.
The most recent decisions cut further into the remainder of the $30 million in parks and open space bond money approved by county voters in 2007. The pool had stood at about $11 million minus $1.2 million the city of Kyle is receiving to upgrade and improve three existing parks. With the most recent expenditures – $850,000 for Jacob’s Well; $1.7 million for Harrison and $5.3 million for Nicholson Ranch – the tally stands at somewhere between $1.7 and $1.9 million. Commissioners pointed out that it is still more for recreational use projects than anyone had expected before the habitat purchase came in under budget and Kyle relinquished its claim to more than $1.2 million.
If the purchase goes through, Nicholson Ranch will be designated as a preserve to protect endangered golden-cheeked warbler habitat and as a mitigation bank under the county’s Regional Habitat Conservation Plan.
The RHCP was developed to help protect endangered-species habitat and position Hays County to support responsible growth and development. Under the habitat conservation plan, the county can help streamline public projects and private development in areas where the federal Endangered Species Act applies by providing “credits” that offset “takings” of those sensitive lands. Through its RHCP, the county hopes to ultimately acquire between 10,000 and 15,000 acres of protected land.
The Nicholson Ranch tract is currently valued at approximately $5 million, which would be paid for out of the $8.4 million the county reserved from the 2007 voter-approved park bond funds to start up the RHCP. With closing costs and other expenses, the Nicholson Ranch purchase is expected to cost about $5.3 million, Ford said.
The Nicholson Ranch tract is one of 15 properties submitted under the county’s call for properties issued in October 2009. The county had requested that properties submitted have at least 250 acres of endangered-species habitat that would address the goals of the RHCP. A second possibility, mentioned in open court last week, is the Lazy Oaks Ranch on Ranch Road 12 near San Marcos.
The biological assessment by Hays County’s environmental consultant indicates that the ranch may have approximately 800 acres of golden-cheeked warbler habitat. The Nicholson Ranch contains the headwaters of Onion Creek and is considered to be a high-value habitat. It has been the Nicholson Family Ranch since 1950.
Money allocated so far from the 2007 parks and open space bond issue:
• Five Mile Dam Park, sponsored by Hays County $1,311,500
• Harrison Park*, sponsored by the City of Dripping Springs $2,475,000
• Christian Federation of Police Officers Park, sponsored by Village of San Marcos, Inc. $1,618,417
• Jacob’s Well plus later land purchase, sponsored by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association $3,850,000
• Nicholson Ranch*, sponsored by Hays County $5,300,000
• Sports Complex, sponsored by North Hays Optimist Foundation, Inc. $581,000.
• Blue Hole Regional Park, Village of Wimberley $2,000,000
• Stagecoach Park, City of Buda $775,000
• Combined Parks Projects, City of Kyle $1,200,000
• Combined Parks Projects, City of San Marcos $3,100,000
• Conservation Easement/Public Access, Dahlstrom Ranch $5,250,000
• Founders Park Sports Fields, Dripping Springs Youth Sports Association $266,919
• Parks and Open Space Master Plan update $50,000
* Funding for Harrison Ranch Park appears likely based on courtroom discussion.
* The county has not closed on the purchase of Nicholson Ranch
